Re: Forgent starts litigating JPEG...
On Mon, Apr 26, 2004 at 07:14:49PM +0100, Andrew Suffield wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 26, 2004 at 11:30:55AM -0400, Anthony DeRobertis wrote:
> > "Forgent Networks said Friday it sued 31 major hardware and software
> > vendors, including Dell and Apple Computers, for allegedly infringing
> > on its claim to an algorithm used in the popular JPEG picture file
> > format."
> > <http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,63200,00.html?
> > tw=wn_bizhead_1>
> >
> > They've started suing. Is JPEG any different than GIF was, especially
> > if this whole mess is settled out of court or worse won by the
> > plaintiff?
>
> Their patent expires *really* soon, like, a few months away. It's
> likely that the issue will become moot.
>From the article...
| Still, there is some good news for critics who would like to see the
| problem go away. According to Noonan, the patent runs out in October 2006.
|
| Unfortunately for the defendants in Forgent's lawsuit, that may not matter
| if the patent is found to be valid.
|
| "Remember, even if the patent expires, once we notify companies that they
| are infringing on patent, we can seek damages all the way back to the date
| when it was issued," Noonan said.
--Adam
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